Assessment Results
Xanthophryne tigerina
Order:
Anura
Family:
Bufonidae
Synonym(s):
Xanthophryne tigerinus, Beduka tigerina
Assessed for:
India
on:
16 Sep 2020
by:
AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop
Authors:
Nikhil Danddekar, Gururaja K.V., Priti Hebbar, Amit Hegde, Girish K.G., Krishna Komanduri, Nikhil Modak, Dr. Anand Padhye, Harshil Patel, Gayathri Sreedharan and Karthikeyan Vasudevan
IUCN Global Red List:
Critically Endangered (CR)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
India
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
14.72782931
Recommended Conservation Actions:
Additional Comments:
| Question # | Short Name | Question Text | Response | Comments |
| 1 | Extinction risk | Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.] | Endangered (EN) | |
| 2 | Possibly extinct | Is there a strong possibility that this species might be extinct in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 3 | Phylogenetic significance | The taxon’s Evolutionary Distinctiveness (ED) score, as generated by the ZSL EDGE program. (These data are not editable by Assessors). | ED value < 20 | |
| 4 | Protected habitat | Is a population of at least 50% of the individuals of the taxon included within a well-managed or reliably protected area or areas? | No / unlikely | This species is known only from the type locality, Amboli (at 720 m asl), Maharashtra state, in the Western Ghats of India (Biju et al. 2009, Nikhil Danddekar, pers. comm. September 2020). It is thought be restricted to its known range, due to surveys in surrounding areas not producing anymore records (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). It is not known to occur in any protected areas. It ranges between 720 (Biju et al. 2009), and 854 (Thorpe et al. 2018). |
| 5 | Habitat for reintroduction, conservation translocation or supplementation | Does enough well-managed and reliably protected habitat exist, either within or outside of currently protected areas that is suitable for conservation translocation, including population restoration or conservation introduction? | No / unlikely | |
| 6 | Previous reintroductions | Have reintroduction or translocation attempts been made in the past for this species? | No | |
| 7 | In situ conservation activities | Are any in situ conservation actions currently in place for this species? (Only required if a Red List Assessment has not been completed, or if new actions have been implemented since the last Red List Assessment. (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.). | No / unlikely | No conservation actions are currently known for this species, and it is not known to occur in any protected areas. |
| 8 | In situ conservation activities | Are additional in situ conservation actions required to help conserve this species in the wild (e.g. habitat restoration and/or protection, control of invasive species, national legislation etc.)? | Yes / probably | Protection of its fragmented forest habitat is necessary (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | More information is needed on this species' distribution, population status, natural history and research on the effects of threats on this species and its habitat. |
| 10 | Threat mitigation | Are the threats facing the taxon, including any new and emerging threats not considered in the IUCN Red List, potentially reversible? | Threats are likely to be reversible in time frame to prevent further decline / extinction | Due to its specialized habitat requirements, it is unlikely to tolerate any habitat loss or disturbance (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). Bauxite mining and stone quarrying is a major threat for this species, and resort development (particularly near type locality) are major threats to this species. Climate change is also considered to be a current threat, and is causing drier conditions and more unpredictable rainfall which is affecting the breeding sites for this species and will lead to the mortality of tadpoles. The area where this species occurs is experiencing loss of forest cover and its habitat is considered to be severely fragmented (S.D. Biju pers. comm. December 2010). Major threats to this species are large-scale agricultural activities, logging and tourism (S.D. Biju pers. comm. January 2011). The development of wind farms may be a future threat, as they are becoming more popular in the area where this species is found (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). Lateritic hill top habitat is fast disappearing in the northern Western Ghats, and this species will be impacted because of this (Karthikeyan Vasudevan, pers. comm. September 2020). Although testing for Bd has been carried out in this species, no positive results have been found at this stage (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). |
| 11 | Over-collection from the wild | Is the taxon suffering from collection within its natural range, either for food, for the pet trade or for any other reason, which threatens the species’ continued persistence in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 12 | Population recovery | Is the known population of this species in the wild large enough to recover naturally, without ex situ intervention if threats are mitigated? | Yes / probably | This species is now considered to be rare compared to what it was in 2001 (S.D. Biju pers. comm. January 2011). It is thought to have decreased due to the ongoing threats at its type locality due to increased development for tourism, and it is thought that the subpopulation at the type locality may become locally extinct if this continues at the same levels (Dr. Anand Padhye, pers. comm. September 2020). In other areas it is considered to be common and found in good numbers (Nikhil Modak and Nikhil Danddekar, pers. comm. September 2020). |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | |
| 14 | Biological distinctiveness | Does the taxon exhibit a distinctive reproductive mode, behaviour, aspect of morphology or physiology, within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.)? | No aspect of biology known to be exceptional | The species was named due to having stripes resembling the patterns of tigers (Dr. Anand Padhye, pers. comm. September 2020) |
| 15 | Cultural/socio-economic importance | Does the taxon have a special human cultural value (e.g. as a national or regional symbol, in a historic context, featuring in traditional stories) or economic value (e.g. food, traditional medicine, tourism) within its natural range or in a wider global context? | No | |
| 16 | Scientific importance | Is the species vital to current or planned research other than species-specific ecology/biology/conservation within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.) e.g. human medicine, climate change, environmental pollutants and conservation science? | No research dependent on this species | |
| 17 | Ex situ research | Does conserving this species (or closely related species) in situ depend upon research that can be most easily carried out ex situ? | No | |
| 18 | Ex situ conservation activities | Is any ex situ research or other ex situ conservation action currently in place for this species? (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.) | No / unlikely | |
| 19 | Husbandry analog required | If an ex situ rescue program is recommended for this species, would an analog species be required to develop husbandry protocols first? | Yes / probably | We would need to identify a suitable analog for this species (Nikhil Modak, pers. comm. September 2020). Duttaphrynus, hololius, D. melanostictus or D. stomaticus could be potential husbandry analogs (Benjamin Tapley and Karthikeyan Vasudevan, pers. comm. December 2020). |
| 20 | Husbandry analog | Do the biological and ecological attributes of this species make it suitable for developing husbandry regimes for more threatened related species? i.e. could this species be used in captivity to help to develop husbandry and breeding protocols which could be used for a similar, but more endangered species at a later stage? | No | |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Not held in captivity to date | |
| 22 | Conservation education/ecotourism potential | Is the species especially diurnal, active or colourful, or is there an interesting or unusual aspect of its ecology that make it particularly suitable to be an educational ambassador for conservation of the species in the range country, either in zoos or aquariums or within ecotourism activities? | Yes | Potential flagship ranking: 2 (local community), 2 (tourist), 1 (conservation practitioner), (Kanagavel et al. 2017). It is a valuable species for eco-toursim purposes, due to its coloration (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). |
| 23 | Mandate | Is there an existing conservation mandate recommending the ex situ conservation of this taxon? | No | |
| 24 | Range State approval | If an ex situ initiative was proposed for this species, would it be supported (and approved) by the range State (either within the range State or out-of-country ex situ)? | Yes / probably | |
| 25 | Founder specimens | Are sufficient animals of the taxon available or potentially available (from wild or captive sources) to initiate an ex situ program, if one was recommended? | Yes / probably | |
| 26 | Taxonomic status | Has a complete taxonomic analysis of the species in the wild been carried out, to fully understand the functional unit you wish to conserve (i.e. have species limits been determined)? | Yes | This is a valid species. |
Citation:
Nikhil Danddekar, Gururaja K.V., Priti Hebbar, Amit Hegde, Girish K.G., Krishna Komanduri, Nikhil Modak, Dr. Anand Padhye, Harshil Patel, Gayathri Sreedharan and Karthikeyan Vasudevan 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Xanthophryne tigerina, India
(AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop).
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/5744
Accessed 18 May 2024
